Method for making cast-in-place concrete structures

ABSTRACT

A complete monolithic concrete structure having any desired architectural form and appearance is constructed in a series of operations wherein the foundation, the interior and exterior walls, and the roof are cast-in-place. The foundation and walls are sequentially formed by first temporarily interconnecting a plurality of relatively small concrete forms, after which moist concrete is allowed to cure within the forms. A temporary supporting structure is then erected to support the roof form. After the roof structure has cured, the temporary supporting structure is removed. The required electrical, plumbing, and reinforcing elements are embedded in the cast-in-place structures, and suitable framed openings are left in the wall structures to accept doors and windows.

United States aterit 1 1 1 1 3,728,838 Stout Apr. 24, 1973 [5 METHOD FORMAKING CAST-IN- 3,461,639 8/1969 Merrill ..52/169 PLA E C NCRETESTRUCTURES 3,614,051 10/1971 Trimmer ..249/27 [76] Inventor: Robert K.Stout, Hamburgo, Num. FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIQNS 75, 9 Piso, MexicoCity, 6, D. R, L Mexico 189,778 5/1957 Austria ..52/236 1,215,35411/1959 France ..249/17 [22] Filed: Sept. 1, 1971 Primary ExaminerFrankL. Abbott [21] Appl' 176891 Assistant ExaminerJames L. Ridgill, Jr.

Att0rneyThomas M. Marshall [52] 11.8. C1. ..52/742, 248/18, 52/314,

248/254 S, 249/27, 52/236, 52/36 [57] ABSTRACT {g 6 ill A completemonolithic concrete structure having any 5 desired architectural formand appearance is constructed in a series of operations wherein thefounda- 56] References Cited tion, the interior and exterior walls, andthe roof are cast-in-place. The foundation and walls are sequen- UNITEDSTATES PATENTS tially formed by first temporarily interconnecting aplurality of relatively small concrete forms, after 11229365 6/1917 f"249/27 which moist concrete is allowed to cure within the i322 forms. Atemporary supporting structure is then 7/1909 Neil u 25/! T erected tosupport the roof form. After the roof struc- 1,129:144 2/1915 Venable249/189 has cured temPmaY suppmmg Structure 1,579,822 4/1926Knickerbockerm "249/39 removed. The required electrical, plumbing, andrein- 1,828,876 10 1931 Rohn ..52/221 i g elements r embedded in h n-pl2,157,992 5/1939 Smith ..52/427 structures, and suitable framed openingsare left in the 3,490,729 /l970 uce el wall structures to accept doorsand windows. 3,307,822 3/1967 Stout 249/140 3,405,903 10/1963 Sullivan..52/91 7 Claims, 31 Drawing Figures vow Patented A ril 24, 1973-3,728,838

8 Sheets-Sheet 1 F|G6A ,4 r Ton/v57 INVENTOR.

Patented April 24, 1973 3,728,838

' 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 ROBERT h. Srou jinn 4W Patented April 24, 19733,728,838

8 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIGBC INVENTOR. a552r 4 $7007 Arron/v5) Patented April24, 1973 3,728,838

8 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. 'iasa r M 87007 ATTORNEY FIGBK PatentedApril.24, 1973 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEI METHOD FOR MAKING CAST-IN-PLACE CONCRETE STRUCTURES BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relatesto a system for producing buildings, and more particularly, a method ofmaking a monolithic cast-in-place house, building or like structure,wherein, in a series of steps, the foundation, l

walls and roof are formed. The system involves the construction of afoundation, a wall, and a roof, each of which is formed by temporarilyinterconnecting a series of relatively small lightweight concrete forms.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART One of mankinds most pressing problemsis the development of a system for producing low-cost housing capable ofproviding security against the adverse elements of weather, earthquake,fire and vermin. In conventional building systems of the present day,even the so-called prefabricated systems, use is made of thousands ofindividual pieces of many materials involving many separate processesand employing several skilled crafts and many skilled men. As a result,building construction, be it for a house, industrial building,warehouse, etc., is expensive, time-consuming, requires skilled labor,and in many cases requires the use of heavy construction equipment.

In spite of the limited success that has been achieved withprefabricated wood and other construction materials in adapting massproduction techniques to the production of houses, most people stillprefer a house made of masonry material. The reason for this is simple:concrete masonry is the strongest, most durable building material knownto man, and is the cheapest material for effectively combatting theadverse effects of weather, earthquake, tire and vermin. However, knowntechniques for the construction of masonry houses have many of the samelimitations as techniques for constructing frame or similar structures.More particularly, masonry houses made of brick require the individuallaying of many bricks, stone or the like along with the construction ofthe structural members of the house, the plastering of the interiorwalls for appearance purposes, the laborious chiselling out of thewindows and door frames, and the additional chiselling ofthe masonrymaterials for accommodating plumbing, electric and gas conduits. As aresult, known techniques for forming a masonry house are expensive,time-consuming and require skilled craftsmen.

Faced with the alternative techniques mentioned above, the constructionindustry has long sought a system for creating a commercially acceptablebuilt in-place" house made of concrete material. To this end, theconstruction industry has attempted, without success, to develop asystem of making a house by casting concrete. One technique involves thepreliminary erection of a structural steel skeleton arrange-ment made ofl-beams, followed by the placing of large slabs of concrete panels(which are pre-cast at a factory) between the beams. The concrete panelsare usually very large, in order to minimize the cost of construction,and hence resort must be made to the use of heavy equipment to transportthe panels and to position the panels between the l-beams. One of theprimary disadvantages of this type of system is that the result of thistechnique is the completion of only the wall portions of the building.Conventional building roof techniques must then be resorted to in orderto complete the building. Hence, this construction technique has thedisadvantages of requiring heavy equipment, involving piecemealconstruction, and requiring a large capital investment in a factory forproducing the pre-cast panel.

A second known technique involves the use of extremely large concreteforms, some large enough to complete major wall portions of a buildingstructure. One obvious disadvantage of this system is the requirementfor heavy equipment for transporting and positioning the forms. Afterthe forms are in position, moist concrete is poured or cast-in-place atthe site of the building structure. Besides the disadvantage attendantwith the weight and bulk of the forms, which necessitates heavyconstruction equipment and thereby increases the cost of construction,this technique has the disadvantage of only being capable of producingone type or design of building. Also, as in the previously describedprior art technique, the roof structure was often constructed usingstandard techniques which employed many different building materials,such as wood, structural members, planking or sheathing, and aconventional roofing material.

Another known technique for forming cast-in-place masonry buildings wasto employ a plurality of individual forms which are temporarily securedtogether to form two spaced wall members providing a form for castingconcrete. Often these individual forms were made of heavy metal whichnecessitated the use of construction equipment, with the forms being soconstructed that only one design or type of structure could be made.Furthermore, the forms were employed for making the walls of thebuilding, after which conventional techniques were employed forcompleting the structure. In addition, the appearance of the resultingwall was frequently unacceptable because of the joint lines formed inthe concrete, and hence finishing of the wall (e.g., plastering) wasoften added as an additional step of construction; hence, the cost ofconstruction was increased by. the requirement for additionalconstruction materials and skilled labor.

In summary, heretofore the construction industry has lacked a system ofconstructing a commercially acceptable built-in-place building structureof concrete.

Concrete is the most desirable construction material because it is themost inexpensive and readily available permanent building material, andit is fireproof, rotproof vermin-proof, earthquake-proof, andweatherproof. Furthermore, concrete may be poured or cast in place.Prior systems for concrete masonry structures often required heavyconstruction equipment, additional finishing processes, and, mostimportantly, do not result in a low-cost, complete masonry structure.More particularly, thousands of attempts have been made by giants of theconstruction industry to perfect a commercially acceptablebuilt-in-place house of concrete, and a system to produce the house,including such names as Thomas A. Edison (see U.S. Pat. No. 1,123,266,which issued on Jan. 5, 1915), and many, many others. None of thesesystems were successful as to commercial success, for the followingprimary reasons:

The appearance of the built-in-place concrete house produced with theprevious systems were unacceptable because of many ugly imperfections ofthe concrete.'ln order to cure these defects, further finishingoperations were required, thereby increasing the cost of construction.Furthermore, the prior art systems were difficult to erect and wereincomplete, and this further reduced the economy of the cast-in-placeconcrete house. The system of the present invention has solved theseproblems by employing a concrete form which will economically producebeautiful designs and architectural results in the concrete. With thesystem of the present invention, no further finishing is required to theconcrete surface.

The prior art systems required large forming surfaces which necessitatedheavy, expensive machinery and were limited to a few plans or designs,etc. The system of the present invention goes together like a hugeerector set, with no sections larger than one man can handle. Thesections employed in the system of the present invention can be puttogether by unskilled men using mass production techniques. In addition,the innovative hardware used in the system of the prevent inventionrenders the system simplicity itself.

The system of the present invention is the only system that solves allof the many problems of the erection of a complete built-in-placestructure, and will produce an economical low-cost house. It is the onlysystem that allows for adaptability to any plan, dimension andarchitectural style desired. This is quite remarkable, considering themany thousands of different plans, with openings of various sizes,intermediate floors of all sizes and requirements, roofs of variouspitches and sizes, etc. All this is accomplished with a simple basicarchitectural form forming a basic module employed in the system of thepresent invention. The system of the present invention also accommodateswindow and door openings, electrical work, plumbing work, and otherservice lines. When the walls are cast, forexample, they are complete,with all the window and door frames in, the electrical wiring in,plumbing conduits in, and the wall is finished on both surfaces. Inaddition to the form used in the system of the present invention,specially developed hardware and accessory items have been developed toaccomplish a rapid, simple erection of the forms. These items ofhardware and accessory as described hereinafter are an integral part ofthe success of the subject system.

A majority of the people in the world today live in countries wheremasonry construction is essential. It is highly significant that thereis no system in use today that will produce masonry housing on anindustrial scale necessary to solve the critical housing problem.Without exception, these countries are still using methods employed forcenturies to produce their housing. The system of the present inventionwill industrialize masonry construction techniques, and solve thecritical housing problem for social interest construction.

SUBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the subject invention toovercome the problems associated with prior art techniques and provide asystem for building commercially acceptable, complete cast-in-placebuilding structures; it being understood that the term buildingstructure should not be interpreted to be limited to a residentialdwelling, but may also encompass industrial buildings, apartmentbuildings, warehouses, and other similar enclosed structures.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a system forbuilding a complete, castin-place masonry building structure, includingthe foundation, exterior and interior walls, and roof structure.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a system ofmaking a cast-in-place masonry building structure, which system producesan economical lowcost house, and is adaptable to mass productiontechniques.

Another object of this invention is to provide a system for making acast-in-place building structure that allows for adaptability to anyplan, dimension, and archictectural style and design, including windowand door openings of various sizes, multi-story building structures,intermediate floors of all sizes and requirements, a roof of variouspitch, size and overhang structure, and including electrical andplumbing conduits embedded in the cast-in-place masonry wall structure.

Similarly, it is an object of the invention to provide a system formaking a cast-in-place masonry building structure which may be readilyconstructed using unskilled labor.

It is an associated object of the invention to provide a system formaking a cast-in-place masonry building structure, having attractive andacceptable interior and exterior surfaces which do not require furtherfinishing operations or processes, other than painting if desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a system of making acast-in-place masonry building structure which does not require the useof heavy construction equipment, in that all of the forms and hard wareused in the system may be easily handled by a single laborer.

A further object of the invention is to provide a system of making acast-in-place masonry building structure in a minimum of time, and witha minimum amount of materials in order to insure an attractive andstructurally sound building.

These and other objects and advantages are realized by the system of thepresent invention which employs a plurality of small (ranging from 2 X 2inches through 24 X 24 inches) architectural forms, along withassociated specifically developed hardware for temporarily securing thearchitectural forms together to define the foundation, wall and roofforms into which moist concrete material is cast-in-place.

More particularly, first the site on which the building is to beconstructed is prepared by levelling and compacting, along with thetemporary interconnection of an array of architectural forms (of a sizewhich is easily handled by a single laborer) to define the foundationform. The various service lines such as plumbing, electricity and gasare positioned within the foundation form, as well as the requisitestructural reinforcing bars which extend within the plane of thefoundation and the upstanding reinforcing bars which will subsequentlybe embedded within the wall structure. Moist concrete is then pouredinto the foundation form and allowed to cure. In like manner a group ofarchitectural forms are temporarily secured together to define twospaced wall forms, including both interior and exterior walls, andincluding suitable openings for holding frames for windows and doors.The spaced wall forms rest on the slab of the foundation, and are heldin spaced relationship by a plurality of wall tie members extendingbetween said wall forms. The wall forms are constructed, and areinterconnected, such that both sides of the resulting masonry walls arearchitecturally acceptable, without unsightly joint lines or concreteimperfections. As in the case of the foundation, the various servicelines are positioned between the wall forms prior to the pouring ofmoist concrete. After the masonry walls have cured, the architecturalwall forms are removed, and a temporary arrangement of shoring members,designed for the system of the present invention, is placed within thebuilding structure. If desired, specially designed roofsupportingbrackets are secured to the wall ties on the exterior of the buildingfor supporting overhanging portions of the roof form. The latter isconstructed by temporarily interconnecting a series of architecturalforms, and is supported by the shoring arrangement and the roofsupporting brackets. Similar to the previous steps, moist concrete ispoured in the roof form and allowed to cure, after which the roof form,temporary shoring arrangement, and the roof supporting brackets areremoved. At this time, the masonry building is structurally complete.Various ancillary items such as the windows, doors, and service fixturesare then installed in the structure thereby completing the constructionof the building. The resulting monolithic masonry build- BRIEFDESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of twoarchitectural forms used in the system of the present invention, andshows the inside surfaces of the forms;

FIG. 2 is a perspective, partial sectional view of the foundation of thehouse made according to the system of the present invention, and showsthe array of architectural forms used for defining the foundation;

FIG. 2A is a sectional view taken along line 2A-2A in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, partially in section, of the interior andexterior walls of the house made according to the system of the presentinvention, and shows the groups of architectural forms which aretemporarily secured together to define the arrangement of two spacedwall forms;

FIGS. 3A through 3K are detailed views of the various pieces ofspecially developed hardware used in the system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view ofa portion of the groups ofarchitectural forms which are temporarily secured together to define thewall forms for use in the system of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the outside portions of a group ofarchitectural forms which are temporarily secured together to define oneof the two spaced wall forms for use in the system of the presentinvention, and shows the openings in the wall form for a window and adoor;

FIG. 5A is a sectional view taken along line 5A-5A in FIG. 5 andincludes the interior wall forms;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view, partially in section, of a roof form foruse in the system of the invention;

FIGS. 6A through 6H are detailed views of various pieces of speciallydeveloped hardware used in the system of the present invention;

FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 illustrate in sequence a modified embodiment of thesystem of the present invention in which a two-story building structureis formed; and

FIG. 9A is a detailed view of a specially developed roof bracket used inthe system of the present inventron.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Before describing the severalembodiments of the subject invention, it should be noted that althoughthe detailed description will refer to the building structure as ahouse, any other type of enclosure having a foundation, walls and a roofmay be made according to the teaching of the invention. Accordingly, itis contemplated that building structures such as industrial buildings,warehouses, apartment houses, hospitals, and the like are includedwithin the scope of the inventron.

FIG. 1 illustrates two architectural forms 10 and 10a which are of thetype which may be used in the system of the present invention. Forms 10and 10a form the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 3,307,822 entitledCONCRETE WALL CONSTRUCTION FORM, which issued on May 7, 1967, to theinventor of the subject application, Robert K. Stout. Although theinvention will be described with respect to the architectural forms 10and 10a, it is readily apparent that any type of masonry form capable ofproducing an architectural masonry structure may also be employed. Alongthese lines, it should be noted that the use of forms as disclosed inthe above-identified patent, as well as other concrete forms, has beenextremely limited in that, heretofore, the construction industry haslacked a system for building a complete structure. Hence, such formshave been primarily employed for building walls, fences and the like,after which conventional processes were employed for completing thestructure. The system of the present invention is the first system toemploy the forms to completely construct a building structure.

Each architectural form, 10 and 10a, is preferably constructed of castaluminum, but magnesium or other lightweight metal or plastic can beused. These forms are preferably made in a wide variety of sections(square or rectangular) ranging from 2 X 2 inches to 24 X 24 inches, soas to facilitate handling by a laborer, and to allow for adaptability ofthe present system to any desired plan, dimension and architecturalstyle of the resulting monolithic building structure. Of course, largerarchitectural forms may also be used when warranted in light of theresulting building structure.

Each architectural form comprises a relatively thin sheet 12 of metalwhich has the overall dimensions of the desired form. Sheet 12 includesan outside surface 14 and an inside surface 16. A flange 18 on theperimeter of sheet 12 extends outwardly from the inside surface 16 ofsheet 12 and protrudes beyond the outside surface 14 at a right anglethereto. A plurality of slot indentations 20 are imposed on the outsidesurface of flange l8 and these slot indentations are perpendicularlydisposed with respect to the plane of sheet 12. Holes 22 can extendthrough flange 18 in each one of the slot indentations 20 for a reasontov be seen hereafter.

Reinforcing bar members 24 (see FIG. 2) project from the outside surface14 of metal sheet 12 and have a thickness substantially equal to thewidth of flange 18, which extends around the periphery of sheet 12. Thefunction of the bar members 24 is to reinforce metal sheet 12 and thisreinforcement could obviously assume several different patterns.

The inside surfaces of forms and 10a are substantially identical, andcomprises an architectural brick arrangement formed by a plurality ofelongated narrow bars 30 horizontally extending across the insidesurface 16, and a plurality of non-continuous verticalbars 32 on thesame surface to complete the brick pattern. It should be noted that thevertical bars 32 adjacent the side edges of surface 16 have a widthequal to only half that of the vertical bars 32. Similarly the bars 30'at the top and bottom of surface 16 are half the width of the horizontalbars 30. It should also be noted that the bars 32 have beenalternatively discontinued. The area of the inside surface 16 betweenthe bars 30 and 32 is shown to be rough and irregular, and is comprisedof a plurality of small arcuate indentations and protruding portions ofdifferent sizes located in an irregular and non-symmetrical pattern. Bythis arrangement, as shown in FIG. 1, the adjacent side edges of theforms 10 and 10a match and register with each other to better hide anyseam between adjacent forms. Furthermore, the indentations andprotruding portions are substantially arcuate in shape to avoid anysharp lines or edges. It is preferred that the vertical side edges ofeach form be identical so that when a plurality of such forms arealigned in side by side abutting relation, the adjacent vertical sideedges of the forms will register with each other. The registration ofadjacent side forms insures that the resulting concrete structureprovides an architectural finish which will not necessitate furtherfinishing processes.

Also formed in the flange l8 of each architectural form are a pluralityof holes 23 which are employed for securing adjacent forms together andto insure alignment of said forms. In general, the architectural formswhich are employed for forming the outer periphery of a surface such asthe foundation and the roof do not include the slot indentations 20. Thelatter are provided in an architectural form in order to accommodate awall tie for maintaining the spacing between two spaced wall forms thatare employed for forming the upstanding walls of a building structure.In addition to the slot indentations 20, such wall forms also includeholes 23 for maintaining alignment and securing together adjacentarchitectural forms. Further details relative to the type of form usedduring the several steps of the subject system will be discussedhereinafter.

The first step in the system of the subject invention, as applied to theconstruction of a monolithic masonry house, comprises the formation ofthe floor or foundation. Referring to FIG. 2, the site on which themasonry house is to be constructed is first levelled, after which theground G is compacted, and a peripheral trench 40 is dug for definingthe peripheral footing of the resulting floor structure. In addition,interior trenches 40 may also be prepared for providing footings for theinterior walls of the structure. Next, an array of architectural forms10 are temporarily interconnected by means of suitable pin and wedgearrangements (to be described with reference to FIG. 3E hereinafter) andprovided about the entire periphery of the floor area, with the array ofarchitectural forms being fixed in place by means of stakes 42. Thevarious service conduits, including electrical wiring (not shown) andplumbing lines 44 are placed within the confines of the floor area, aswell as a network of reinforcing bars 46, the extent of which isdetermined by the desired structural characteristic of the resultingstructure. In addition, upstanding reinforcing bars 48 are providedabout the periphery of the floor structure, as well as within theinterior of the floor structure corresponding to the location of theinterior walls. Next, moist concrete 50 is poured and levelled withinthe confines of the foundation forms, and it is suggested that aV-groove 52 be provided about the periphery of the floor spaced from theform to cooperate with the upstanding walls to define a moisture jointor barrier for the resulting house structure. After the concrete hascured, the foundation forms may be removed, preparatory to the erectingof the wall forms.

The next step in the system of the present invention is the erection ofthe wall forms which are mounted on the concrete floor, preferablyspaced within an inch or two of the outer periphery of the floor area.The architectural for ms employed for forming the wall form are of thetype which include the slot indentations 20 in order to receive wallties that function to maintain the proper spacing between the interiorand exterior wall forms as described hereinafter.

Basically, this step in the system of the subject invention involves theformation of a continuous arrangement of two-spaced concrete wall formsby the temporary interconnection of a group of architectural forms, withthe arrangement defining the upstanding exterior and interior walls ofthe house. As shown in FIG. 3, the wall forms are defined by an interiorgroup of wall forms and an exterior group 62 of wall forms, with theinside surfaces 16 of the forms facing toward the area where theconcrete is to be poured. As a result, the resulting wall structure, asshown at the top of FIG. 3, is architecturally finished both on theexterior surface thereof and the interior surface thereof. Thearrangement of the wall forms 60 and 62 is continuous to include,besides the outer peripheral wall of the house, an interior wall,designated by numeral 64, and an extension of the house, generallydesignated by numeral 66. In interconnecting the various wall forms,openings are left for the windows 68 anddoors, one of which is shown at70.

FIG. 3A illustrates in detail the interconnection between two adjacentarchitectural panels 10 and 10a. In order to form a temporaryinterconnection between said panels, fastening means including a pin 76(see detail FIG. 3E) having a slot 77 and cooperating wedge 78 (seedetail FIG. 3F) are employed. Extending between the interior 60 andexterior 62 wall forms are a plurality of wall ties 74 (see detail FIG.36). In the interconnection of architectural panels 10 and 100, a walltie 74 is positioned within the aligned slot indentations 20 in therespective panels, after which the pin 76 is positioned within thealigned holes 22 and the hole 75 in the wall tie 74, and the wedge 78 isthen positioned within the slot 77 of pin 76. The wedge is forced intoslot 77 in order to form a tight interconnection between thearchitectural forms. Additional pins 80 are then passed through thealigned holes 23 in order to insure proper alignment between theadjacent forms. In like manner, additional pins are provided between theadjacent forms disposed above and below said panels and 10a. If desired,the additional pins may be in the form of nuts and bolts.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a modified form of temporary interconnectingfastening means is illustrated for those instances wherein a smallerarchitectural form 10b is to be provided between forms 10 and 10a. Form10b is generally similar to forms 10 and 10a, and includes slotindentations 20. Instead of providing two temporary fastening means ofthe type illustrated in FIG. 3A, resort is made to a fastener comprisingan elongated pin 90 which is slotted as at 92, 92 at its opposite ends,and a pair of wedges 94 and 94 are employed. Pin 90 is long enough toextend through the two abutting slot indentations of the adjacentpanels, so that a single temporary fastening means is employed forsecuring the three panels together. As in the structure of FIG. 3A,suitable wall ties 74 are employed, as well as aligning pins 80.

FIG. 3C illustrates in detail a device employed in the system of thepresent invention in order to insure the alignment of the wall forms.More particularly, a Z- shaped member 100 is provided with suitableapertures for cooperating with the rib reinforcing portions 24 of thearchitectural forms so as to define a bracket for holding astraight-edge, such as a 4 X 4 inch wood member. As illustrated in FIG.3, a plurality of U- shaped members 100 are fixed to the upper panels onthe exterior wall form 62, and a straight-edge 102 is slipped into themembers 100, and is effective to maintain the alignment of the wallmember during the concrete pouring operation. A similar arrangement maybe provided on the interior wall form 60. The U- shaped member may besecured to the architectural forms by temporary fastening means of thetype illustrated in FIG. 3A. Alternatively, the U-shaped members may besecured to the architectural forms by a quick clamp 104 of the typeillustrated in FIG. 3I. The quick clamp 104 comprises a U-shaped memberhaving an upstanding pin 106 for passage through the associated form,with one leg 108 of the quick clamp 104 being inclined relative to theother leg I10 whereby, after the pin I06 is inserted through a hole inthe form, the quick clamp is rotated about the pin 106 and the relativeincline between surfaces 108 and 110 results in a wedging action therebysecurely holding the abutting form members together. The quick clamp 106may also be employed for maintaining adjacent architectural formstogether.

Referring again to FIG. 3, it is noted that the wall form for theinterior wall 64 is additionally connected to the wall form 60 by meansof corner braces 114. As shown in detail in FIG. 3D, each corner brace114 includes a turnbuckle 116 terminating in opposed pins 118 which areadapted to fit within the holes 23 in adjacent architectural forms.

In order to facilitate the ease of erection of a building structure orhouse made according to the system of the present invention, the windowframes and door jambs are temporarily connected to the wall forms foruse as part of the form structure preparatory to the pouring ofconcrete. The window and door frames are held to the architectural formsby means of specially designed whaler clamps, designated by the numeral120, one of which is illustrated in detail in FIG. 3H. The whaler clamp120 is generally U-shaped in configuration, and includes a pin 122adapted to fit within a hole 23 in the associated architectural form.The opposite leg portion of the whaler clamp is inclined so as tofrictionally grip the opposite architectural form. After the wallstructure has been formed, the whaler clamps are removed, but the windowand door frames remain in place for easy attachment to the door andwindow structures, respectfully. Whaler clamps are also employed forsecuring the end plate to the form for the interior wall 64.

FIG. 3J illustrates a scaffold bracket which may be secured to the wallforms 60, 62 for providing sup- I port for scaffold 132. The scaffoldbracket 130 includes a U-shaped edge portion 134 which attaches to oneof the architectural forms, with the lower end 136 of the scaffoldbracket 130 resting against a lower portion of the form.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of the various architectural formswhich are temporarily assembled in order to form the interior andexterior wall forms 60 and 62. As clearly illustrated in FIG. 4, thearchitecturally finished or inside surfaces 16 of the forms are infacing relationship whereby both the interior and exterior surfaces ofthe resulting wall structure are architecturally finished, and do notrequire additional finishing processes. FIG. 4 also illustrates anexterior angle bracket 140 which is employed at the junction of theexterior wall forms 62. Angle bracket 140 is provided with'a pluralityof holes 142 corresponding to the holes 22 and 23 in the adjacentarchitectural forms. In addition, FIG. 4 illustrates the variousdifferent sized architectural forms which may be employed for formingthe wall forms 60, 62.

FIGS. 5 and 5A illustrate an assembled wall form, including openings fora door and window. The arrangement of the architectural forms as shownin FIGS. 3-5 provides a continuous arrangement of two-spaced concretewall forms which are formed by the temporary interconnection of aplurality of architectural forms. The arrangement defines the upstandingexterior and interior walls of the house, with spaced walls beinginterconnected by a plurality of wall ties. Since the wall forms areformed by interconnecting a plurality of relatively small architecturalforms, it is readily apparent that heavy construction equipment is notrequired to reach this stage of the system of the present invention, noris it required in order to complete the masonry building structure. Inaddition, the use of the pin and wedge arrangements illustrated in FIGS.3A and 33, as well as the quick clamp device of FIG. 3| greatlyfacilitates the erection of the wall forms, as well as facilitating theremoval of the wall forms upon completion of the formation of the walls.

Moist or uncured concrete is poured in the space defined between thetwo-spaced concrete wall forms 60 and 62, and allowed to cure. Theconcrete may be poured to a point level with the upper edge of the wallforms, in which case a flat roof would be obtained, or alternatively,the uncured concrete may be poured and finished in a manner so as to beinclined from one end of the house to the other, in which case aninclined roof structure may then be constructed. After the monolithicconcrete walls have been poured, the architectural forms are removed,and the wall ties 74 may also be removed, with the resulting holes leftby the wall ties being filled with a suitable caulking compound. FIG. 3Killustrates an alternate form of wall tie wherein the tie 134 is taperedboth in width and along its length thereby enabling its easy removalfrom the cured concrete wall. It should be understood that certain ofthe wall ties may be maintained in place and employed during theconstruction of the roof structure during the final step of the systemof the present invention. Also, the wall ties may be constructed toinclude lines of weakened areas so that those portions of the tieextending beyond the resulting wall may be readily snapped off, therebyleaving the bulk of the tie within the wall for structural purposes.

In order to complete the construction ofa monolithic masonry house, thestep of forming a concrete roof on the masonry structure mentionedhereinabove will now be described in detail, with particular referenceto FIG. 6. First, a temporary arrangement of shoring members isconstructed within the enclosure defined by the exterior walls. This maybe accomplished through the use of a plurality of jacks 150, one ofwhich is shown in detail in FIG. 6A. Jack 150 is of the variable lengthtype, and its upperend is suitably configured to accept a jack head 152,shown in detail in FIG. 6B. The upper end of the jack head 152 includesa U-shape member having a pair of aligned holes 152', and a pivot top154 (See FIG. 6C) is pivotally connected, by a suitable pin means, tothe upper end of the jack head 152. Pivot top 154 comprises a generallyelongated U-shape member designed to accommodate an elongated structuralbeam member 156. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of jacks are alignedalong two walls of the structure, with each aligned arrangement ofjacksaccommodating two parallel structural beam members 156. Extendingbetween and transverse to the longitudinal axis of the generallyparallel structural beam members 156 are a plurality of telescopingsupport beams 160. As shown in detail in FIG. 6D, each telescoping beam160 includes on the opposite ends thereof flanges 162 adapted to rest onthe respective beams 156, 156. The combination of the jacks, thestructural members 156, and the arrangement of telescoping beams 160provides a temporary structure for supporting a plurality ofinterconnected architectural forms 10. The latter are shown in FIG. 6 asbeing of the smooth type, whereby the interior surface of the resultingroof will be smooth.

In order to extend the roof structure beyond the perimeter of the houseas defined by the exterior walls, resort is made to overhanging bracesof the types illustrated in FIGS. 6E and 6F. The overhang braceillustrated in FIG. 6E is of the variable angle type, and is generallydesignated by numeral 170, and includes a support leg 172 which includesapertures for connection to wall ties extending in the wall portion ofthe masonry wall. Secured to the upper end of the support leg 172 is afixed arm 174, having pivotally connected at its outer end thereof asecond arm 176. Arm 176 may be inclined relative to fixed arm 174 bymeans of a threaded screw arrangement 178, whereby the variable angleoverhang brace may be adjusted to any desired pitch of the roof.

FIG. 6F illustrates a second form of overhang brace which is of thefixed type, and is designated by numeral 180. Fixed overhang brace 180comprises a support leg 182, to which is fixed an arm 184 disposed at aright angle to the leg 182, and an angle support leg 186. As shown inFIG. 6, in the construction of a house according to the'system of thepresent invention wherein an inclined roof is provided, overhang braces180 of the fixed type illustrated in FIG. 6F would be used along theleft side of the house, while variable angle overhang braces 170 wouldbe employed along the front edge, or pitched surface of the roof.

The edge of the roof form is defined by means of roof edge supportsillustrated in FIGS. 66 and 6H. The roof edge supports are secured tothe flanges of the architectural forms disposed about the periphery ofthe roof form. Roof edge support illustrated in FIG. 66 provides anarrangement wherein the upstanding surface 200 of the roof form ismounted flush with the architectural roof form, whereas roof supportbracket 192 illustrated in FIG. 6H includes a stepped portion, whichenables the upstanding surface 200 to be stepped in with respect to theedge of the roof.

As is clearly shown in FIG. 6, where an inclined or pitched roof isdesired, the roof form is supported by the temporary arrangement ofshoring members within the enclosure, and by the various overhang bracesin a manner whereby a portion of the upstanding wall projects above theplane of the architectural roof forms. By this arrangement, after theuncured concrete is poured to form the roof structure, a monolithicconnection between the walls and the roof of the resulting house isachieved. After the roof form has been completed, uncured concrete ispoured into the confines of the roof form and allowed to cure. Thetemporary arrangement of shoring members is then removed, therebycompleting construction of the house according to the system of thepresent invention. I

FIGS. 7-9 illustrate a system for constructing a twostory house. Thesteps involved in forming the foundation or floor and the walls, as wellas the roof as described with reference to FIGS. l-6 are identical,except that, as shown in FIG. 7, the uppermost architectural form 10 isleft in place and is employed during the formation of the second flooras the outer peripheral edge thereof. After the upper floor has cured,the wall forms for forming the second story of the building structureare assembled, as shown in FIG. 8. It is suggested that a bracing member202 be provided at this time preparatory to the formation of the wallsof the second story. Also, to facilitate construction, resort is made tothe scaffold braces of the type illustrated in FIG. 3.! for enabling theworkmen to assemble the temporary wall forms for the second story. Afterthe concrete for the walls of the second story has been poured andcured, the roof is constructed in a generally. similar manner to thatillustrated with reference to FIG. 6. This is shown in FIG. 9, with FIG.9A illustrating in detail the variable angle overhang brace used forsupporting the roof form.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a system for making acommercial acceptable built-in-place building structure of concrete. Thesystem of the present invention produces a finished result on bothsurfaces of the wall. This is due to the pattern which is an integralpart of the architectural form. This feature is essential, as no furtherfinishing is required on the wall surface. This is necessary to theoverall economy of cast-in-place concrete structures. The architecturalforms employed in the present system go together like a giant erectorset, with a simple pin and wedge fastener. This results in verysignificant savings in labor costs. There is no other forming systemwhich can produce an architectural result in concrete at anythingapproaching the speed of the system of the present invention. Thepresent system is so simple that unskilled men can accomplish the sameresults as skilled brick layers and other craftsmen. Since thearchitectural forms are made of light-weight material, large enoughsections can be handled by one man to be very efficient and rapid, andno expensive machinery is required. The system of the present inventionis the only forming system which is completely designed to produce acastin-place house or other structures. An architectural result in theconcrete is absolutely essential to an acceptable cast-in-place concretehouse. In many areas of the world, special climatic conditions requirespecial techniques and methods of construction. Therefore, people haverejected the cast-in-place concrete house, not only for an attractiveappearance, but because they consider concrete to be cold, or that itretains heat, etc. The system of the present invention is a completesystem which has taken this into consideration and it has solved theseproblems. One innovative method of providing comfort and insulatedproperties to the concrete, is by incorporating special chemicals in theconcrete which produce dead air spaces which provide insulationproperties. In addition, the system of the present invention may beemployed for the construction of multi-story buildings, and allows foradaptability to any plan, dimension, and architectural style design.While the invention has been described in connection with severalpreferred procedures, it will be understood that it is not intended tolimit the invention to those procedures. On the contrary, it is intendedto cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may beincluded within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A method for making a cast-in-place concrete structure comprising theseparate and sequential steps of:

a. levelling the ground area on which the concrete structure is to beconstructed and forming a foundation form by temporarily interconnectinga plurality of architectural forms to define the area of the foundation:

b. forming the foundation and floor of the concrete structure by pouringuncured concrete into the confines of said foundation form and allowingsaid concrete to cure;

c. removing said foundation form;

d. forming a continuous arrangement of two-spaced concrete wall forms bytemporarily interconnecting a plurality of architectural forms, saidtwospaced concrete wall forms being interconnected by a plurality ofupper and lower wall form ties,

said arrangement of wall forms defining the upstanding exterior andinterior walls of the said concrete structure;

e. forming the upstanding exterior and interior walls of the concretestructure by pouring uncured concrete into the space defined betweensaid twospaced concrete wall forms, and allowing said concrete to cure;

f. removing said spaced concrete wall forms;

g. removing said lower wall form ties and leaving the upper wall formties for subsequently supporting brackets for the roof form;

h. constructing the roof form portion of the concrete structure by,

i. providing a temporary arrangement of shoring members within theenclosure defined by said exterior walls;

ii. securing outwardly overhanging brackets to said upper wall form tiesexternally of the exterior walls in order to provide a temporary supportfor a roof form; and

iii. forming a roof form by temporarily inter-connecting a plurality ofarchitectural forms, and supporting said roof form on said arrangementof shoring members and said brackets, with the peripheral edge of saidroof form being defined by a continuous upstanding member;

i. forming the roof of the concrete structure by pouring uncuredconcrete into the confines of said roof form and allowing said concreteto cure; and

j. removing said temporary arrangement of shoring members, brackets,upper wall form ties, and said roof form.

2. A method for making a cost-in-place concrete structure as in claim 1wherein the step in forming the upstanding exterior and interior wallsof the concrete structure includes placing and curing uncured concretein the two-spaced concrete forms at an inclined angle from one end ofthe structure to the opposite end thereof in order to enable the roof tobe formed at a desired pitch.

3. A method for making a cast-in-place concrete structure as in claim 1wherein the step of forming a continuous arrangement of two-spacedconcrete wall forms comprises constructing the wall forms to includeopenings for receiving the frames of doors and windows in the concretestructure, with the periphery of said openings being closed bycooperation of the wall forms and the window and door frames, saidwindow and door frames being temporarily secured to the wall forms byWhaler brackets.

4. A method for making a cast-in-place concrete structure as in claim 1including the additional step of securing straightening members to thetwo-spaced concrete wall forms prior to the pouring of moist concretematerial therein.

5. A method for making a multi-store cast-in-place.

b. forming the foundation and floor by pouring uncured concrete into theconfines of said foundation form and allowing said concrete to cure;

. removing said foundation form; forming a first continuous arrangementof twospaced concrete walls by temporarily interconnecting a pluralityof architectural forms, said first concrete wall forms beinginterconnected by a plurality of upper and lower wall form ties anddefining the upstanding exterior and interior walls of the first storyof said concrete structure;

. forming the upstanding exterior and interior walls of the first storyof the concrete structure by pouring uncured concrete into the spacedefined between said first concrete wall forms, and allowing saidconcrete to cure;

. removing said first concrete wall forms except for maintaining aseries of architectural forms connected to said upper wall form tiesexternally of the exterior walls of the first floor;

. constructing the first floor form of the concrete removing saidtemporary arrangement of shoring members and said floor form; along withthe series of architectural forms defining the peripheral edge of saidfirst floor;

'. forming a second continuous arrangement of twospaced concrete wallforms, said second arrangement of wall forms being mounted on said firstfloor, said second concrete wall forms being interconnected by aplurality of upper and lower wall form ties, and defining the upstandingexterior and interior walls of the second story of said concretestructure;

. forming the walls of the second story of the structure by pouringuncured concrete into the space defined by said second concrete wallforms and allowing said concrete to cure;

l. removing said second concrete wall forms;

m. removing the lower wall form ties in the walls of the second storyand leaving the upper wall form ties for subsequently supportingbrackets for the roof form;

constructing the roof form of the two-story concrete structure by,

i. providing a temporary arrangement of shoring members within theenclosure defined by the exterior walls of the second story, andsupported on said first floor;

. securing overhang brackets to the upper wall form ties externally ofthe exterior walls of said second story in order to provide a temporarysupport for a roof form to enable the latter to extend beyond theperipheral edges of said upstanding exterior walls of said second storand in. forming a roof form by temporarily lll erconnecting a pluralityof architectural forms, and supporting said roof form on saidarrangement of shoring members and said overhang brackets,

with the peripheral edge of said roof form being defined by a continuousupstanding member;

. forming the roof of the multi-story concrete structure by pouringuncured concrete into confines of said roof form and allowing saidconcrete to cure; and v removing the first and second continuousarrangement of concrete wall forms, the temporary arrangement of theshoring members, the upper wall ties, the overhang brackets, and saidroof form.

6. A method for making a cast-in-place concrete structure as in claim 5wherein in the steps in forming the continuous arrangement of two-spacedconcrete wall forms for the first and second story walls, leavingopenings for receiving the frames of doors and windows in the concretestructure, with the periphery of said openings being closed bycooperation of the wall forms and the window and door frames, saidwindow and door frames being temporarily secured to the wall forms bywhaler brackets.

7. A method for making a multi-story cast-in-place concrete structure asin claim 5 comprising the further steps of repeating steps (f) through(m) prior to the steps of constructing the roof form and forming theroof of the-concrete structure in order to form additional stories forthe concrete structure.

1. A method for making a cast-in-place concrete structure comprising theseparate and sequential steps of: a. levelling the ground area on whichthe concrete structure is to be constructed and forming a foundationform by temporarily interconnecting a plurality of architectural formsto define the area of the foundation: b. forming the foundation andfloor of the concrete structure by pouring uncured concrete into theconfines of said foundation form and allowing said concrete to cure; c.removing said foundation form; d. forming a continuous arrangement oftwo-spaced concrete wall forms by temporarily interconnecting aplurality of architectural forms, said two-spaced concrete wall formsbeing interconnected by a plurality of upper and lower wall form ties,said arrangement of wall forms defining the upstanding exterior andinterior walls of the said concrete structure; e. forming the upstandingexterior and interior walls of the concrete structure by pouring uncuredconcrete into the space defined between said two-spaced concrete wallforms, and allowing said concrete to cure; f. removing said spacedconcrete wall forms; g. removing said lower wall form ties and leavingthe upper wall form ties for subsequently supporting brackets for theroof form; h. constructing the roof form portion of the concretestructure by, i. providing a temporary arrangement of shoring memberswithin the enclosure defined by said exterior walls; ii. securingoutwardly overhanging brackets to said upper wall form ties externallyof the exterior walls in order to provide a temporary support for a roofform; and iii. forming a roof form by temporarily inter-connecting aplurality of architectural forms, and supporting said roof form on saidarrangement of shoring members and said brackets, with the peripheraledge of said roof form being defined by a continuous upstanding member;i. forming the roof of the concrete structure by pouring uncuredconcrete into the confines of said roof form and allowing said concreteto cure; and j. removing said temporary arrangement of shoring members,brackets, upper wall form ties, and said roof form.
 2. A method formaking a cost-in-place concrete structure as in claim 1 wherein the stepin forming the upstanding exterior and interior walls of the concretestructure includes placing and curing uncured concrete in the two-spacedconcrete forms at an inclined angle from one end of the structure to theopposite end thereof in order to enable the roof to be formed at adesired pitch.
 3. A method for making a cast-in-place concrete structureas in claim 1 wherein the step of forming a continuous arrangement oftwo-spaced concrete wall forms comprises constructing the wall forms toinclude openings for receiving the frames of doors and windows in theconcrete structure, with the periphery of said openings being closed bycooperation of the wall forms and the window and door frames, saidwindow and door frames being temporarily secured to The wall forms bywhaler brackets.
 4. A method for making a cast-in-place concretestructure as in claim 1 including the additional step of securingstraightening members to the two-spaced concrete wall forms prior to thepouring of moist concrete material therein.
 5. A method for making amulti-story cast-in-place concrete structure comprising the separate andsequential steps of: a. levelling the ground area on which the concretestructure is to be constructed and forming a foundation form bytemporarily interconnecting a plurality of architectural forms to definethe area of the foundation; b. forming the foundation and floor bypouring uncured concrete into the confines of said foundation form andallowing said concrete to cure; c. removing said foundation form; d.forming a first continuous arrangement of two-spaced concrete walls bytemporarily interconnecting a plurality of architectural forms, saidfirst concrete wall forms being interconnected by a plurality of upperand lower wall form ties and defining the upstanding exterior andinterior walls of the first story of said concrete structure; e. formingthe upstanding exterior and interior walls of the first story of theconcrete structure by pouring uncured concrete into the space definedbetween said first concrete wall forms, and allowing said concrete tocure; f. removing said first concrete wall forms except for maintaininga series of architectural forms connected to said upper wall form tiesexternally of the exterior walls of the first floor; g. constructing thefirst floor form of the concrete structure by, i. providing a temporaryarrangement of shoring members within the enclosure defined by the firststory exterior walls; and ii. forming a floor form by temporarilyinterconnecting a plurality of architectural forms, and supporting saidfloor form on said arrangement of shoring members; h. forming the firstfloor by pouring uncured concrete into the confines of said floor formand allowing said concrete to cure; i. removing said temporaryarrangement of shoring members and said floor form; along with theseries of architectural forms defining the peripheral edge of said firstfloor; j. forming a second continuous arrangement of two-spaced concretewall forms, said second arrangement of wall forms being mounted on saidfirst floor, said second concrete wall forms being interconnected by aplurality of upper and lower wall form ties, and defining the upstandingexterior and interior walls of the second story of said concretestructure; k. forming the walls of the second story of the structure bypouring uncured concrete into the space defined by said second concretewall forms and allowing said concrete to cure; l. removing said secondconcrete wall forms; m. removing the lower wall form ties in the wallsof the second story and leaving the upper wall form ties forsubsequently supporting brackets for the roof form; n. constructing theroof form of the two-story concrete structure by, i. providing atemporary arrangement of shoring members within the enclosure defined bythe exterior walls of the second story, and supported on said firstfloor; ii. securing overhang brackets to the upper wall form tiesexternally of the exterior walls of said second story in order toprovide a temporary support for a roof form to enable the latter toextend beyond the peripheral edges of said upstanding exterior walls ofsaid second story; and iii. forming a roof form by temporarilyinterconnecting a plurality of architectural forms, and supporting saidroof form on said arrangement of shoring members and said overhangbrackets, with the peripheral edge of said roof form being defined by acontinuous upstanding member; o. forming the roof of the multi-storyconcrete structure by pouring uncured concrete into confines of saidroof form and allowing said concrete to cure; and p. removing the firstand second cOntinuous arrangement of concrete wall forms, the temporaryarrangement of the shoring members, the upper wall ties, the overhangbrackets, and said roof form.
 6. A method for making a cast-in-placeconcrete structure as in claim 5 wherein in the steps in forming thecontinuous arrangement of two-spaced concrete wall forms for the firstand second story walls, leaving openings for receiving the frames ofdoors and windows in the concrete structure, with the periphery of saidopenings being closed by cooperation of the wall forms and the windowand door frames, said window and door frames being temporarily securedto the wall forms by whaler brackets.
 7. A method for making amulti-story cast-in-place concrete structure as in claim 5 comprisingthe further steps of repeating steps (f) through (m) prior to the stepsof constructing the roof form and forming the roof of the concretestructure in order to form additional stories for the concretestructure.